


Happy Birthday, Louis!

by ericsonclan



Series: Ericson's Diner AU [20]
Category: The Walking Dead (Telltale Video Game)
Genre: Birthday Fluff, Birthday Party, F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-05
Updated: 2020-07-05
Packaged: 2021-03-04 22:07:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,853
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25093588
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ericsonclan/pseuds/ericsonclan
Summary: Everybody at Ericson's Diner celebrates Louis' birthday.
Relationships: Clementine/Louis (Walking Dead: Done Running), Louis & Marlon (Walking Dead: Done Running), Louis & Violet (Walking Dead: Done Running)
Series: Ericson's Diner AU [20]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1688374
Comments: 2
Kudos: 6





	Happy Birthday, Louis!

**Author's Note:**

> (by Laura)

It was a fairly normal morning for Louis as he got ready to head to work. A thoughtful text from Clementine, a quirky e-card from Marlon and a brief text from Violet were the only things that distinguished this morning from all the others as being special. It was his birthday; he was 23 now. As he drove toward Ericson’s Diner, Liszt’s Transcendental Études playing in the background, he wondered if anything special would happen at work. Violet and Clementine would likely have some sort of small presents to give him and the rest of the staff would congratulate him. Maybe Omar would bake a cake that they could leave in the break room for the staff to enjoy whenever they had a moment. Then he’d probably do some sort of movie night at Violet and Prisha’s place or go out to dinner with Clementine. They were sure to have fun.

A ding came from Louis’ phone, causing him to glance over to where it lay on the passenger seat. His father had wired $500 to his bank account. It was his go-to every year at Louis’ birthday. When Louis was younger his father would give him whatever the latest trending piece of technology was. Looking back, Louis’ figured he assigned an office grunt to find an appropriate gift each year, though Louis had been too young to realize it at the time. The parties his parents threw had always been elaborate, but after their divorce things changed greatly. The parties were still thrown, but it was clear to Louis that his father simply used the festivities as an alternate venue for his business deals. Perhaps that had always been the case, but without his mother around to attend to the actual celebrations after the first few birthdays she flew out for, Louis noticed it all the more. Eventually he told his father he had no more interest in birthday parties and simply wanted to celebrate in his own way with his friends. After that the automatic money transfers began. A gift from his mother arrived at his doorstep each year, always something expensive with a trite greeting card attached to it. 

Louis shook his head roughly, trying to banish the gloomier thoughts he had somehow slipped into. This day wasn’t about his parents or any lingering desire for their approval he somehow still clung to. It was about his friends, the ones who’d always stuck by his side. Growing up that had been Violet, Marlon and Mitch. Now there were so many more he held dear. With two years as the co-owner of Ericson’s Diner under his belt, Louis felt that this year finally felt like one worth celebrating. 

Approaching the restaurant, Louis was surprised to see a notice taped to the front entrance door. He paused to read. It said: _Today is the birthday of the founder of Ericson’s Diner, Louis Mason! Because of this, the restaurant’s hours have been changed today in order to give our staff time to celebrate. Our hours of operation will be 12 PM to 12 AM. Thank you._ Who had put this up? He hadn’t been notified of any schedule change. Did that mean… was there going to be a party? Louis leaned over to try to peek through the windows, but all the blinds were still closed. It looked dark in there. It was probably just Omar and Ruby here so far, doing kitchen prep in the back. Louis tried the front door. Still locked. He was the first here to open up the front of the diner. Turning the key in the lock, Louis stepped inside and turned on the lights.

“SURPRISE!” The room literally exploded as confetti poppers went off all around the restaurant. Staff members jumped out from every hiding place imaginable: behind the bar, underneath the tables, inside the supply closet. Louis took a staggered step back in surprise, unable to believe his eyes. Every member of the staff was here, even people that didn’t have shifts that day. Who had put this all together? His eyes caught Clementine’s. She had hopped over the bar to stand in front of it, a warm, proud smile on her face. Stepping forward, she gave him a quick kiss.

“Happy birthday, Louis,”

“Clem, did you do all this?” Louis’ eyes scanned the restaurant, realizing just how much work had gone into this surprise. Every inch of Ericson’s Diner was decked out in balloons, banners, streamers and all sorts of other birthday paraphernalia. “Guys, wow… this is amazing!”

“Vi and I did most of the coordinating,” Clementine motioned to Violet who was leaning against the closet door, a subtle smirk on her face. “But everyone helped with setup. We actually did most of it last night, decorating after you went home,”

“Last night? But I didn’t head out till after midnight. How long did you guys stay up doing this?”

“Nothing’s too good for my best friend,” Marlon declared, walking forward and wrapping Louis in a tight hug. The two patted each other on the back before separating. “Had to make sure we made it the best birthday possible. You deserve it, Lou,”

Louis felt himself getting a little misty-eyed at the sentiment.

“So,” Prisha said from the back of the bar, “What do you want to start with first? Presents? Toasts? Cake?”

Willy, AJ and Tenn began bouncing with excitement atop one of the booths at the prospect of dessert first. “Cake! Cake! Cake!”

“You heard the boys!” Louis said with a chuckle, lifting a hand dramatically. “Bring on the cake!”

The decision made, Omar and Ruby hurried back to the kitchen to retrieve the cake. Instead of returning with the tin that Louis expected, Omar emerged with a giant pizza pan in his hands. He laid down his creation with a proud smile. “I decided to go in a different direction for your ‘cake’ this year. I know how much you like pizza buffets, so I thought I’d adapt a classic and make you a dessert pizza,”

“Oh my god,” Louis looked at the delicacy in awe. Chunks of cinnamon sugar covered a crust swirled in endless layers of icing. He had never seen such a massive dessert pizza pie. It looked delicious. “This is amazing!”

“Go ahead and dig in, y’all!” Ruby declared, bringing forth a pizza pan of her own. “We made plenty!”

Everyone eagerly tucked in, eating slice after slice of the sweet, melt-in-your-mouth goodness of the dessert pizzas. Ruby and Omar kept bringing more and more out, enabling no one to feel guilty as they indulged in slice after slice of the delicious pizza. Louis couldn’t believe how good it was: warm and gooey with a depth of flavor that kept him coming back for more. Before he even realized it he’d eaten four slices.

“Alright, guys!” Clementine waved her arms to get everyone’s attention. “Before we all get too stuffed to do anything else, let’s move on to the games. First off, the piñata!”

“Piñata?” Louis asked in surprise.

Mitch and Prisha shared a look. Reaching below the counter, Prisha lifted up the piñata, clearly already chockfull of candy. “Mitch and I made it out of papier-mâché ourselves so if you spot any white flecks in our hair, that’s flour,”

Louis squinted at the piñata. It was a pale yellow with green spackled all across it. “Wait a minute. Is that-”

“A cantaloupe,” Mitch interrupted, a mischievous grin on his face. “Figured there’s nothing you’d enjoy smashing to oblivion more,”

“That’s brilliant. Let’s do this!” 

Once the piñata was set up in the middle of the room, Louis was given the honor of whacking it first. Having been blindfolded and spun around three times, he wandered in confusion for a moment, guided back by the cheered encouragement of his friends to give the cantaloupe a mighty hit. It didn’t break yet though. Prisha and Mitch had put plenty of layers onto the piñata to ensure everyone got a turn. The results of people’s swings varied. Clementine seemed unfazed by the spinning, making a beeline to the piñata that had some doubting the blindfold’s efficacy. Violet on the other hand ended up whacking Mitch in the gut with the bat, an action she swore was an innocent mistake. When the piñata finally cracked thanks to a particularly hard hit from Minnie, everyone rushed forward to grab as much candy as possible, stuffing their pockets and faces with as much as they could hold.

Clem and Violet had planned tons of party games. Musical Chairs came next, a heated match that saw Louis and Aasim vying for the final spot. In the end Louis fell just short of the final chair, sitting on Aasim’s lap instead to everyone’s amusement. Sophie and Tenn had drawn their own version of Pin the Tail on the Donkey, titled instead Pin the Louis on the Piano. The blindfold came back out and everyone was about as successful with it as they’d been with the piñata. Willy ended up totally lost, pinning the doodle of Louis to Marlon’s leg instead. In the end Prisha got the closest with mini Louis sitting almost perfectly atop the piano bench. Pass the Parcel was next on the agenda. Marlon and Aasim had worked on this one together, wrapping the package in countless layers of newspaper. As each layer was unfolded and mini prizes discovered, it was obvious who had done each layer. Aasim’s were tidy and refined while Marlon’s looked like he’d mashed the newspaper around till it fit. Either way the system worked. Brody was the final winner, opening the box at the center of the parcel which contained the grand prize: two movie tickets. She was flustered and ecstatic at the fact that she’d actually won.

The games all wrapped up, it was time for the presents, or rather, the present. Louis was dying of curiosity as the giant box was placed before him, decorated in cheery birthday wrapping paper and a myriad of ribbons. Clementine explained that the entire staff had chipped in for this gift: something they all hoped he would love. It took a pair of scissors and some elbow grease to fully open and unbox what was inside. 

Once the gift was fully uncovered, Louis couldn’t believe his eyes. It was a miniature piano, fully functional and just as detailed as his grand piano at home. It was just like the piano that Schroeder played the Peanuts theme song too in the comics. Louis hadn’t even known such a thing really existed. Placing the piano on the ground, he sat crisscross before it and began to improv the Peanuts tune. Everybody applauded, as excited as he was to see the piano in use. 

This time Louis wasn’t just misty-eyed. Actual tears were coming out. Brody ran into the back office to get him some tissues. After Louis had dried his eyes, he turned to his staff, feeling practically speechless. He still sat before the piano as all of them stood round him, their eyes bright and happy at witnessing his joy. “Wow, guys… this is more than I ever could have imagined. The decorations, the pizza, the games, you guys bought me a piano for crying out loud!” Louis wrapped his arms around the instrument in a hug, rocking back and forth giddily for a moment before setting it back down. “Seriously, I couldn’t ask for a better staff. You guys are the thing that makes Ericson’s Diner so great. I’m so thankful for each and every one of you. Here’s to another year of great memories,”

“Hear, hear!” Marlon exclaimed, stepping forward and placing a hand on Louis’ shoulder. “Let’s have three cheers for Louis! Hip hip!” 

“Hooray!” 

“Hip hip!”

“Hooray!

“Hip hip!”

“HOORAY!” The room burst into cheers, everyone applauding excitedly. It took a few minutes before things calmed down enough for Aasim to take the floor.

“Alright, everybody, that was a great party, but now it’s time to clean up! We’ve got one hour till we open. Let’s get to work!”

Everyone scattered, moving to take down decorations and prep for the opening. Louis was about to pitch in when he felt a hand tugging his shoulder. He turned to see Clementine smiling at him. “I have a gift for you of my own,” She held out her present. Louis quickly unwrapped it. He felt his heart leap as he saw what lay inside. It was a picture frame, piano themed with detailed keys and musical notes running all along the edges. Truly beautiful. The accompanying picture was one of him and Clementine at the diner. It was one Louis didn’t recognize. The two of them were talking beside the door that led to the kitchen. Both of them were smiling, seemingly unaware that a photo was being taken.

“Brody took that,” Clementine explained. “It was taken on her phone and in secret so that’s why it’s a bit blurry. It was actually before we started dating, back when we were both sweet on each other but didn’t realize. She showed it to me once to prove that I was lying to myself if I thought you didn’t feel the same way. I figured it was a picture that deserved to be framed,”

“Definitely. Clem…” Louis felt like his heart was going to burst out of his chest as he looked at his girlfriend. “I’m the luckiest guy in the world to have you by my side,”  
“The feeling’s mutual,” Clementine grinned before going up on her tiptoes for a kiss. Louis could still taste the sugar on her lips from the dessert pizzas. They pulled apart slowly, savoring the moment. Clementine rocked back onto the balls of her feet happily. “Marlon had to run make a delivery, but he told me to let you know that his gift to you is gonna be a paintball day so we all have that to look forward to. Violet has a gift for you too. I think she’s waiting in the break room,”

“Alright,” Louis took Clementine’s hand in his, squeezing it softly. “I love you,”

“Love you too,” They met for another kiss before Clementine playfully pushed him back. “Now go! You don’t want to keep Violet waiting,”

“Alright, alright!” Louis hurried over to the break room. 

He found Violet inside, standing beside the table. A large scrapbook lay atop it. “Sorry I forgot to wrap it,” Violet said, motioning toward the scrapbook. “I got all caught up in organizing the party and shit and by the time I remembered it was too late to go buy any wrapping paper,”

“That’s fine. Should I?” Louis motioned toward a nearby chair.

“Yeah, go ahead. Sit down and read it. Not all of it, but… you get what I mean,” Violet grabbed her arm self-consciously, looking away.  
Louis sat down and opened up the scrapbook. On the first page was a letter dated 2004. It was one he had written to Violet.

_Dear Violet,  
I hope you’re enjoying being back home. Some days I sort of miss the school and you and Mitch. Do you have any summer plans? We should meet up!  
Your friend,  
Louis_

On the following page was the letter Violet had written him in response.

_Hi Louis,  
Home sucks. The school was better. I have no summer plans. It would be fun to hang out.  
\- Violet_

Louis remembered receiving that letter in the mail. He’d been worried that once he and Violet left the school that they’d fall completely out of touch. Sending that first letter felt like throwing a message into the void; he wasn’t sure if she’d even respond. But Violet had written back and continued to write back to each and every letter he wrote. The scrapbook’s pages were full of all the letters they’d ever sent back and forth to each other from that day onward, organized chronologically from start to finish.

“They’re copies, not the originals,” Violet explained. “I had all the ones you sent me and Clem helped me figure out where you kept the ones I sent you. I made photocopies of all of them so that way you could hold onto your letters and… I could hold onto mine,” Her voice grew soft at that last part. 

“Viiiii,” Louis looked up at his best friend, his eyes watery once more. “This is beautiful. I can’t believe you did all this!”

Violet shrugged. “I just wanted to say thanks, I guess, for always sticking by me. I’m where I am today ‘cause of you. So… thanks,”

Louis couldn’t think of anything else to say. Instead he settled for enveloping Violet in a hug, wrapping his arms tightly round her despite her half-hearted protests. When Violet’s arms came round his back, he knew she was happy with the hug too. The two stood in silence for a few moments, enjoying the hug. “Thank you, Vi,” Louis whispered, “For making this the best birthday ever,” He could just make out the smallest smile upon Violet’s face at his words.

“Happy birthday, Louis,”


End file.
